


Bastard

by Girafferodesiac



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-16 04:05:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11245947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Girafferodesiac/pseuds/Girafferodesiac
Summary: He knew he was a piece of shit. He knew he was no good, and yet every time he saw him, he remembered what it was like when they were a family, and he wants to go back to that.





	Bastard

**Author's Note:**

> Yuri riding a penny board and pissily kick-flipping his problems away fills the void in my heart tbh. In this they're just regular kids, hanging out on some part of the earth's crust.

"I'm hungry." Yuri looked up at Otabek from where he had been silently watching the sidewalk. The older teen only spoke up because Yuri was being too quiet; riding his penny board just beside him, hands shoved into his pockets while he wore the look he always got when something was eating at him, but Otabek knew not to press it. He would spring back in a little while; he just got like that sometimes. Otabek could relate. Still, he wasn't himself.

"Then let's stop and get something to eat," said Yuri as he planted one foot on the sidewalk, kicking up his board. He tucked it under his arm and looked around for anything nearby. Otabek followed Yuri's gaze and spotted a bakery cafe across the street. "How about there?"

"Sure." They headed to the crosswalk and while they waited for the light to change, Yuri rocked on his heels. "Hey." Yuri looked at him. "What's up?"

"Nothin'." Yuri responded, then his mouth settled back into a thin line. Otabek let him be. He was halfway in the door of the cafe when he noticed Yuri had fallen behind, so stepped back to let him catch up, spotting him just a few feet away staring into the window of the bistro next door.

"Yuri," he called. "What is it?"

"Nothing." Yuri deadpanned and picked up his pace, ducking under Otabek's arm and into the cafe. Otabek wanted to ask what was so interesting next door, but he just pursed his lips and followed Yuri inside.

He decided on a croissant and black coffee, while Yuri got a fancy-looking cupcake and some juice. The treat seemed to be more frosting than actual cake, but Yuri seemed content to lap moodily at the mound of sugar and sprinkles as Otabek led him back out onto the sidewalk, where Yuri bumped into him, smearing frosting on his own face and Otabek's leather jacket. He was about to protest when Yuri squeaked.

"Dad?" Otabek turned to look at Yuri, who seemed to have frozen where he stood, staring at the couple leaving the bistro next door. A tall, older blond man wearing glasses held the door for a gorgeous young woman. "Dad!" Yuri called, louder this time. The man looked up. Otabek saw a flash of recognition cross his expression, but it was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. Yuri broke out into a sort of grin that Otabek had never seen before, big and toothy and unabashedly genuine as he wiped his face on his own sleeve.

The cupcake splattered to the ground, dropped unceremoniously as Yuri ran up to the man, already chattering away. Otabek followed a few paces behind to hear what he was saying.

"I know it's kind of been a while, but what a weird coincidence, right? I almost didn't come down this way, so it's really great to see you again, even if it's pretty random. Are you back in town visiting, or - "

"I'm sorry young man," the older man cut in with an awkward, indulging smile. "I'm afraid I don't know who you are. You must have me mistaken for someone else."

Yuri's shoulders visibly drooped. Otabek's heart sank into his stomach.

"Yes - yes you do," Yuri said, like he thought the man was joking. Otabek knew that Yuri wasn't that stupid, but he seemed desperate to believe that this wasn't simply a misunderstanding. "It's me? Yuri? You know, your son? It's only been a couple of years since I saw you last!" He insisted. "You said we'd hang out again soon!"

"I don't recall ever meeting you before." Said the man, cool as a cucumber. A little too cool, noted Otabek, for the situation.

"Bullshit you don't recall!" Yuri argued, agitation bubbling to the surface. "He's lying," he told the woman beside him. "You're lying! I know who you are!" Yuri began to raise his voice, attracting the attention of passersby. "I know what my own dad looks like! You can't even recognize your own kid!"

"I don't have any kids." Said the man. "I've never even been married." He turned around and began to walk away quickly. Yuri moved to follow him, but Otabek grabbed him by the shoulder.

"It won't help." He said. Yuri shot him a glare that could melt steel. His face was red, and Otabek recognized the subtle flare of his nostrils that meant thendam was about to break. Yuri turned back to the retreating couple and took a deep breath.

"Bastard!" He shouted as loud and hard as he could. He looked like he was going to explode out of his skin. His penny board clattered to the pavement as he kicked it in anger. Glass and apple juice splattered all over their shoes as he smashed the bottle with all of his strength. He took another deep breath and loosed a bone-rattling scream that made curious passersby avert their eyes and start picking up the pace. Yuri pulled away from Otabek's grip, turned, and began sprinting in the opposite direction, trampling his ruined cupcake and shards of glass in his wake. Otabek picked up Yuri's board and ran after him, but he lost him in a crowd by the park a few blocks down.

He searched the park for an hour, shouting Yuri's name while he looked everywhere he could think of. He finally found him in an open area behind a thicket of trees, sitting on a low-hanging branch with both knees tucked up to his chest. He had zipped his jacket up around his legs, and Otabek found him partly because he could hear his soft, wet sobs from the brick path.

"Beks what the fuck," Yuri croaked as soon as he came into view, "he just - he just pretended he didn't know me! Like I'm some stranger!"

"I know." Otabek set his things down and pulled himself up onto the branch to sit beside him.

"That was really my dad. I'm not crazy."

"I believe you." Yuri looked up at him, eyes red and swollen.

"He doesn't want me."

"Then he's an idiot." Otabek wrapped an arm around Yuri's shoulders. Yuri leaned into his side and silently trembled as he held in cries that threatened to shake him apart like an old car on its last legs. Otabek had heard Yuri say many unfavorable things about the man. It baffled him that Yuri still seemed to want his approval.

"I knew he was a piece of shit," Yuri groaned, trying to keep his voice steady, "I knew he was no good, I knew it, but every time I see him, I -" he scrubbed a hand over his face and started to cry again, and Otabek almost couldn't make out his next words. "I remember what it was like when we were a family, and I just want to go back to that!" The wave of emotion seemed to pass after a moment, and Yuri tried to laugh, but it just sounded like a choked-off sob. "Isn't that s-so stupid?"

"It's not stupid," Otabek assured him, "it's not all that unusual to still love somebody who hurt you."

"He did me so dirty, Beks." Said Yuri. "Both of them did, my mom and dad."

"Was that what was bugging you earlier?" Otabek asked. Yuri turned away.

"My mom called looking for grandpa, and I knew she just wanted to borrow some money, so I told her to get a job. I got in a fight with my grandpa about it, so I came out to get away." He wiped his eyes on his sleeve, seeming to have calmed down for the most part. "Sometimes I feel like he wants to dump me off on someone else, too. I don't get it. I don't know what I did."

"You probably didn't do anything. People are just cruel." Otabek told him.

"I'm cruel," said Yuri, "I'm cruel to them, too. I don't know what else to do but get angry. That's all I ever feel. I'm angry my dad up and left. I'm angry my mom doesn't want to take care of me anymore. I'm angry that my grandpa gives her money when we're barely scraping by. He wouldn't have to worry if I wasn't around."

"So you think that existing makes you cruel, and a burden." Otabek pulled Yuri closer, and Yuri didn't protest his statement or his affection. "It's fair enough to feel angry. Family means something in this world, so it's reasonable to feel what you feel when people who are supposed to be the adults act selfishly."

"Adopt me, Beks." Yuri said quietly. "You're the only adult who makes any damn sense." Otabek huffed an affirming sigh while Yuri buried his face in his weathered jacket.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based on something that happened to my sister when she spotted our estranged father around our hometown. Even though we hated him until he died, it really cut her deep. Yuri's feelings are my feelings.


End file.
